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Central Point man indicted in three Salem shootings

(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

A Marion County Grand Jury on Friday indicted a Central Point man on charges alleging he shot a man May 18 in south Salem.

Salem Police responded to reports of gunfire in the 5700 block of Southeast Woodside Drive, where they found a man in a vehicle with a life-threatening gunshot wound, according to a Tuesday news release.

The victim, 54-year-old Kerry Lynn Johnson, was transported to Salem Hospital where he was still being treated as of Tuesday afternoon.

Kenneth Wayne Felton, 25, has also been indicted on charges for several unrelated shootings that occurred in Salem between December 2021 and January 2022, police said in the release.

In total, Felton was indicted Friday on two counts of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and five counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, court records showed.

The charges allege he attempted to kill Dustin Flaten on Dec. 27, 2021, Yaroslav Drofyak on Dec. 30 and Johnson on May 18.

“The work done by the detectives of our Violent Crimes Unit is impressive. Their skills and dedication to apprehend those who threaten the safety of our community is remarkable, and it speaks to our agency’s commitment to address violent crime in our city,” said Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack in the news release.

One of the unrelated shootings occurred at the intersection of Northeast Pine and Broadway Streets on Dec. 30, 2021. The victim was standing outside his vehicle when two men approached him and asked for a ride. When he refused, they shot him, according to a news release.

That came three days after a man was shot at Orchard Park Apartments. 4368 Kacey Circle N.E. Felton is also charged in that shooting.

He was in custody without bail at the Marion County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon, the jail’s roster showed.

-Ardeshir Tabrizian